Wichita State Basketball: 5 potential candidates to replace Gregg Marshall

Gregg Marshall’s successful but troublesome tenure with Wichita State Basketball has finally come to an end.

After a two-month-long investigation into inappropriate misconduct – including physical and verbal abuse – by Wichita State Basketball head coach Gregg Marshall, the Shockers administration has officially parted ways with the all-time winningest coach in program history.  Isaac Brown, Marshall’s longtime assistant, has been tabbed as the interim for the season.

This is the right decision, undoubtedly.  Jeff Goodman and Stadium published a breaking report back in early October that outlined numerous allegations placed against Marshall, which included punching Shaq Morris in the head during a practice in Oct. 2015 and choking an assistant coach at a practice during the 2016-17 season – among a host of other, greatly disturbing allegations.

I wrote about Marshall and the “bully” issues plaguing college basketball last month after this report surfaced.  Wichita State’s decision to part ways with Marshall should be nothing short of potentially groundbreaking for high-major Div. I hoops – but the decision to pay Marshall $7.75 million as part of his contract settlement is inexcusable and outright horrific, and suggests otherwise.

Marshall – a Naismith National Coach of the Year honoree and a Final Four coach – is, arguably, the biggest coaching name to be canned over abusive allegations since Bob Knight in 2000.  This is also a different situation than what ended Knight and Mike Rice’s tenure, because, while the final nail in their coffins were videotapes, Marshall’s tenure ended over allegations not caught on camera.

Again, this is the right decision.  There is no excuse for Marshall’s embarrassing and abusive behavior, and it is difficult to argue against it when there are so many witness reports corroborating the allegations.  However, the timing of this could not, obviously, be any worse for the Wichita State program.

The Shockers will now have to find a new head coach while just a week away from their season-opening game against Utah State in the highly competitive Bad Boy Mowers Crossover Classic. Additionally, this is a team forced to rebuild after having at least six players transfer out almost immediately after the end of last season.

Wichita State was just picked to finish seventh in the recently-released AAC preseason poll, and their top returning leading scorer is Tyson Etienne (9.4 ppg).  They will get some much-needed help from incoming UConn transfer and point guard Alterique Gilbert, who averaged 10.3 pointers, 2.9 rebounds, and 3.5 assists per game in 64 appearances.

This is a program just seven years removed from the Final Four run and six years removed from their 34-0 regular season romp – and now, they will face their greatest challenge yet in replacing their all-time winningest head coach.

There have already been a few coaches linked to the opening, but this is an incredibly tricky situation for Shockers administration.  If the 2020-21 season is on, this could be a make-it-or-break-it season for Wichita State in the AAC – particularly as teams below them, like East Carolina and UCF, have made strides to improve.

Gregg Marshall turned the Shockers into a national power after Mark Turgeon flirted with success there throughout the 2000s, and finding someone to continue that in the coming months – especially during a chaotic season such as this one – will be difficult.  However, there are definitely a few notable choices available – both from within and not currently coaching.